CS5 - Jacko's Red Devil Plum Ale

[JackoNZ]

This is my experimental beer that I brewed for the last WnBC Imperial Hybrid comp. It was intended to be an IIPA with plum but points were knocked down for style so I'm re-branding it as an Imperial Fruit Beer!

Red Devil Plum Ale

18L Batch

Baird's Pearl Pale Malt 85%
Weyermann Munich I 4.6%
Baird's Pale Crystal 2.9%
Global Light Caramel 2.9%
Sugar 4.6%

60 - 10g Pacific Jade 13.9 IBU
55 - 10g Pacific Jade 13.5 IBU
50 - 10g Pacific Jade 13.2 IBU
45 - 10g Pacific Jade 12.7 IBU

30 - 10g Centennial 8.4 IBU
25 - 10g Centennial 7.6 IBU
20 - 10g Centennial 6.7 IBU

Dry Hop - 22g Pacific Hallertau 3 days

3.2kg of dark red flesh Omega plums were added in secondary, 1kilo (pasteurized) at a time for 3-5 days then removed and replaced with a fresh kilo. The dry hop was added with the last 1.2 kilo of plums.

2 packs of SAF-05

1.063 - 1.012
6.66% ABV
76 IBU

[Reviled]

Pours cloudy/hazy dark plum red, probably pectin haze from all of the fruit? Aroma is hard to put my finger on, im getting plums with hints of malted toffee and I think if I sniff hard enough I can smell hops somewhere in there, however subtle it may be! Fermented plums up front on the palate with a hint of sweetness before the hop bite kicks in and then turns slightly acidic or sour, but not in a bad way IMO.

I personally much prefer a sour or acidic fruit beer than a sweet one, I think this beer would have been amazing with a little less bitterness to balance it out, but not too much, the late hopping confuses things as well I think, but all in all a very nice beer mate!!

Reminded me a bit of the cranberry cream ale I brewed, with its acidic ness, but I think I like plums more as theyve left more residual sweetness than cranberrys without being overly sweet... I wonder if dropping the sugar, lowering the IBUs a tad and getting rid of the late hopping would make this beer perfect?? You've inspired me to at least give it a go next time im feeling adventurous :o)

[JackoNZ]

Cheers for the feedback Rev. Good spotting on the hop aroma. I don't think the dry hop came through at all but interestingly before any plums were added I tried a sample from the fermenter and I was getting a huge whiff of the centennial at 20-30 minutes. Strange I thought as I was expecting flavour only not aroma at those timings. One of the judges at the recent WnBC comp also made a note of US hop aroma and a second judge mentioned hop aroma rather than plum coming through.

Glad you enjoyed it.

[Reviled]

"Strange I thought as I was expecting flavour only not aroma at those timings"

Nah you definately get aroma from 30-20 min additions, its just not as much as from late or dry hopping...

Similairly you can also IMO get flavour from a 0 min addition, at least with my system you can...

[MrC]

Knocked this beer of last night after drinking jt's Cooper Ale.

Pours a very murky red rose colour with a pink head. Aroma of American hops and maybe a small pair of sweaty socks. Carbonation is spot on for me. Tart & dry with a sour fruitiness. Flavour doesn't seem overly plummy. Hops are competing with the fruit. Hops are nice but I think they are detrimental to the fruit character. Mouthfeel is nice & smooth, good lacing.

I've read that for fruit beers you should reduce or remove late hop additions which is what I have always done. This beer was interesting for me to see what hops & fruit are like together.

I quite liked it. The tart, dryness was good but a little more sweetness would make this beer more drinkable. I like fruit beers so I'm glad you swapped it :-) Couldn't pick up any faults, just preferences. A well brewed beer.

You may already be aware of this but just in case you're not:
The haziness is due to pectin from the fruit. You can add pectic enzyme (Pectinase) if you want that will eat up the pectin and leave the beer free of pectin haze. I've done it both ways, it just depends on whether you want a clear fruit beer or not.

Cheers

[JackoNZ]

Thanks Mr Cherry.

[Martin Bridges]

Usual approach: not read any of the other comments, decanted into a jug then poured into a pint glass.

Despite careful decanting this beer is well hazy. OK, cloudy. Bright red with a pinkish fluffy head which lingers well.

Low aroma, maybe a little fruit.

Prickly acidity from the off. Fruit flavour dominates initially, definitely plums.Very cleansing and fresh on the palate. Almond-ish flavour starts to come through late, almost as if the fruit stones had been in there. Hard to detect any hops or bitterness from them. Certainly doesn't taste 6%+. Very dry, with a tart sourness which I like - I definitely hate sweet fruit beers.

A very interesting beer, which is developing on me as I go down the glass. In fact, the hops are starting to make an appearance. Not my particular cup of tea but then I'm not a huge fruit beer fan, and this is definitely a fruit beer. A worthy experiment for a case swap. Cheers mate.

[Ally Mcg]

Second last of the swappers for me after a couple of Epic PA's.

Limited comments, but damn this is pretty fine. There's a lovely tartness in the finish that every now and then hints at sourness, but its more a suggestion which makes it all the more tasty.
Some sweet plum on the nose makes me think of plums and custard from being wee, maybe a little vanilla too. Dry finish, but see above previous; damn - this is fine
Well swapped sir. Cheers!